


Pocket Haven

by Wordlet



Series: Hello to a World [2]
Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Gen, Storytelling, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:46:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26991613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordlet/pseuds/Wordlet
Summary: Moominvalley is a place where hot springs sprout out of the ground for convenience and witches can find an empty forest to witch away undisturbed. These things aren’t unheard of in other parts of the world, but there simply isn’t anywhere else like Moominvalley.
Series: Hello to a World [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941448
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Pocket Haven

The campsite's only flaw is that it's the perfect environment for hattifatteners.

The clearing has plenty of space without feeling unguarded. There aren’t too many rocks and there’s a level patch just the right size for his tent. Someone has even used it before and left some firewood behind. It is far enough along the trail winding away from the Lonely Mountains that Snufkin feels like he could rest here and call it a full day's travel.

But there are thunder clouds huddled around the horizon and he almost discounts it. A midnight awakening is unavoidable in these conditions. He turns his feet back to the path and makes it a full ten paces before stopping and turning back.

He'd almost forgotten. Hattifatteners are the kind of thing that only spring up in the valley.

There are a lot of things like that, Snufkin’s noticed. Creatures like the fire spirits or imps trapped in trees for five hundred years only live in certain places. Special places. Moominvalley is a place where hot springs sprout out of the ground for convenience and witches can find an empty forest to witch away undisturbed. These things aren’t unheard of in other parts of the world, but there simply isn’t anywhere else like Moominvalley.

“What’s the world like outside of the valley?” Snorkmaiden asked him once at a campfire. Their small party had climbed one of the peaks in the Lonely Mountain chain and were camping for the night. On the left the valley is cuddled up at the base of the mountains, the sea lapping at shores foggy with night. On the right, though, the countryside lopes on with bounding hills and shimmering lakes. In many ways it doesn’t look so different from the valley, but it’s new, mysterious, and much bigger, and so all of his friends perk up at the question.

“It’s not so easy to describe.” Snufkin says slowly. The world is wide but without any broad characteristics to summarize it. “The world is a very big place.”

And to Snorkmaiden it probably seems that somewhere big would be stranger. Full of unknowns and adventures. And it’s not that the world at large… isn’t… but in Moominvalley these things are concentrated.

“I bet you’ve seen all kinds of things, Snufkin!” Moomin cheers. “Tell us a story!!”

So he does. It’s some inane thing about the time he travelled with a fortune teller for a short while and how the man decided where he’d travel by the omens he’d notice at crossroads.

“I’m not sure he could actually see the future.” He says. “We still had our fair share of troubles, and one can’t say what we avoided by choosing left or right.”

“Did he make a lot of money?” Sniff presses. “Remember that time Snorkmaiden got psychic powers? We could have been so rich if you hadn’t lost them again!”

“No, we couldn’t have.” Snorkmaiden says hotly. “I told you from the start that I couldn’t foresee your plan working at all!” The conversation shifts then and Snufkin settles back to listen to the new current of thought travelling between them. The late summer wind drums up thunder clouds on the far horizon but in their small campsite the night sky is clear aside from a near haze of shooting stars.

Weeks pass from that night telling stories and before Snufkin knows it he’s crossing through the mountains again. Once more the wide expanse of fields and forests is spread out before him. He breathes a sigh of relief. It’s good to be out in the open. The valley can feel far too small sometimes. But… he turns back to look over it once more before leaving it behind for another season. It’s midday now instead of night and mid autumn instead of summer but the valley still has that soft warmth to it. Looking at it makes Snufkin think of coffee steaming in the morning and the scratch of stitches against his skin where previously there had been tears. It looks like home.

But well. Everyone needs to get out of the house now and then.

**Author's Note:**

> Moomins out of context would be a thing in the moomin world too, someone recorded Snufkin's stories and the voice recordings are a source of much amusement and confusion to outsiders.
> 
> This series is multi-fandom and based on world and character exploratory fiction : ) Within the series, all Moomin Works can be found here.


End file.
